Nadir: Post Scene to The Seventh Child
by Mulderette
Summary: Callen and Nadir spend a day together before Nadir moves on to life with his new family. One-shot.
"Good morning," Callen greeted Nadir's family as they entered the boat shed. "It's nice to see you all again."

"It's good to see you too, Agent Callen," David Zahavi said, shaking Callen's hand.

"We appreciate you taking Nadir out for the day," Rachel Zahavi stated with a smile. "He's been looking forward to it."

"I've been looking forward to it as well," Callen said. "But I wanted to say, Tomar is more than welcome to join us as well if he'd like to."

"Thank you, Agent Callen, but we are going on a movie studio tour today." Tomar's eyes were blazing with excitement as he spoke up.

"A movie studio? That sounds like a lot of fun," Callen responded, smiling at Nadir's brother.

"And we should get going," David said, glancing at his watch. "What time should we pick up Nadir?"

"Can we meet back here at 4 o'clock?" Callen asked. "My partner will be bringing in a witness and I need to speak with him."

"That will be fine. We'll see you this afternoon. Have fun, Nadir." David playfully ruffled Nadir's hair and Rachel kissed his cheek before they headed for the doorway.

"Enjoy the movie studio, Tomar!" Nadir called to his brother who waved back at him as they exited the building.

"Looks like things are going pretty well," Callen observed and Nadir nodded, smiling shyly up at him.

xxxxx

"So…" Callen looked at his young passenger after he had seat-belted himself into the car. "I hope you're not disappointed to be missing the movie studio tour."

Nadir quickly shook his head, watching as Callen started up the engine. "I haven't really gotten to see many movies. Tomar loves movies. He says he watches them all the time. I don't really know the movie people he talks about."

"Well, you've got plenty of time to learn about movies, Nadir. You're going to be experiencing a lot of new things."

"I know," said Nadir, nodding. "Tomar has been telling me about his school. My…my mother…she said I can take drawing lessons if I'd like."

"Really? That sounds great," Callen said. "It sounds like your family is being very supportive."

"They are," Nadir agreed. "But, Tomar…he's different than Kamir and me. He likes movies and music. He talks about people I've never heard of. He talks about school and sports and his friends...he has a lot of friends…"

"Of course Tomar is different," Callen said, trying to ease Nadir's obvious anxiety. "He's been brought up in an entirely different world than you and Kamir were, with a whole different set of experiences. You just need to give it a chance, Nadir. You'll make friends too. You're going to learn about lots of new things and I think you will have things to teach Tomar as well."

Wanting to change the subject, Nadir turned his attention to the window and the passing scenery. "We went to the zoo yesterday…I got to see the crocodiles. They were pretty awesome."

"Yeah? Were they everything you thought they'd be?"

"They were even better," Nadir said, smiling as he remembered the previous day. He tried not to think about the fact that Kamir hadn't gotten to see the crocodiles. "So where are we going today, Grisha?" he asked.

"Somewhere I think you're really going to like," Callen answered with a grin.

xxxxx

"I wish Karim could have seen this," Nadir said wide-eyed, looking at the life-sized dinosaur fossils with wonder. He and Callen were walking through the Dinosaur Hall at the Natural History Museum. The place was absolutely amazing. Nadir looked very excited, but there was a touch of sadness in his eyes as well.

"I know you do," Callen said. "But Karim wouldn't want you to be upset. He'd be very happy that you found your family, Nadir. You have to believe that."

"I know…I know he would, but I still wish he could have found them too. There are so many things he could have seen and could have done. Now, he won't be able to do any of them…"

"It's a tragic thing what happened to your brother, Nadir," Callen said gently. "But you still should be grateful for the 11 years you had together. You should treasure the good memories that you have. Those memories will always be with you."

Nadir nodded. "I'll always remember my brother…I could never forget him."

Callen nodded but didn't say anything further. Nadir was understandably grieving. He had gone through a lot in only a very short time. His whole life had basically been turned upside down, shaken up and then put back together again in an entirely different order. It was going to take a while for him to sort everything out. "Come on, Nadir," Callen placed his arm around the boy and rested his hand on his shoulder. "Let's spend today giving you some more happy memories, okay?"

xxxxx

Callen and Nadir explored the museum thoroughly. Nadir especially liked the insect zoo and the spider pavilion and Callen enjoyed experiencing the exhibits through the youngster's eyes. "This is such a great place, Grisha," Nadir said as they were heading towards the exit. "I'm really glad you took me here."

"I'm glad you liked it," Callen said. He gently placed his hand on Nadir's upper back and guided him into the museum store. "Why don't you pick out something you'd like and get something for your brother as well."

Nadir looked up at Callen uncertainly. "You don't have to buy me anything, Grisha. You've already done more than enough for me."

"I know I don't have to. I want to," Callen said reassuringly. "Come on. Let's see what they have in this place."

"Okay…if you're sure…" Nadir smiled and his eyes lit up as they explored the store. By the time they left, they had obtained quite a haul. Nadir had chosen metal dinosaur figurines for himself and his brother, which were made from motorcycle parts from junkyards. Callen had to admit they were pretty cool looking and he had almost considered getting one for himself. He could only imagine what Sam would say if he had put one up on his mantle. Callen had also insisted on two glow-in-the dark tyrannosaurus rex tee-shirts for Nadir and Tomar, a volcano making kit and a souvenir mug so that Nadir would remember the day.

xxxxx

"You about ready for some lunch?" Callen asked Nadir as they put the purchases in the trunk of the car.

"I'm definitely hungry," Nadir said nodding.

"Good, I'm hungry too. I'm going to take you to one of my very favorite places. Do you like burgers?"

"I…I've never had a burger," Nadir said.

Callen nodded, mentally chastising himself. He should have thought of that. "Right…you probably don't eat any beef at all. We'll go someplace else."

"No. I want to try a burger," Nadir insisted.

"Are you sure, Nadir?" Callen asked doubtfully. "There are lots of other places we can go. We can even get Indian food if you want."

"Yes, I'm sure." Nadir smiled as he settled back into the car, eager to see where they were heading next. He was having a great time.

About 20 minutes later, Callen pulled up into In-N-Out. "I love this place," he enthused as they got out of the car and headed inside. He and Sam just usually ate in the car, but he thought it would be better to eat with Nadir inside at a table.

"So I usually get a double-double with fries and a shake," Callen said as they waited in line in the front of the counter. "It's really good, but it's your first time…I think you should try something smaller."

Nadir bit his lip a little uncertainly and nodded "Yes, I'll get the smaller one…"

"How about a milkshake? Do you want to try one of those? I'm going to get a chocolate one. I've had vanilla before too which is good. I've never tried the strawberry but I'm sure that's also fine. Or you can just get soda."

Nadir considered the numerous drink options. He'd never really been given choices before. They were just given food and they ate it. There had been no choice involved. "I…I guess I'll try a chocolate shake too."

After a short wait, Callen carried the food to an open table and he and Nadir sat down. Callen was starved and took a big bite of his burger immediately. "Mm…" he said. "That is so good."

Nadir tentatively ate a French fry and then tried the burger with a smaller, neater bite than Callen had taken. He smiled after he swallowed. "It is good!"

They ate in silence for a short time, just enjoying the food. Nadir was getting full fast. It was a lot more food than he was used to. He put the burger aside and settled on picking at the fries and sipping his shake as he gave Callen a speculative look.

"Do you have something on your mind, Nadir?" Callen asked, feeling a tiny bit uncomfortable under the boy's unwavering gaze.

"Yes…but I don't know if you will want to talk about it…"

"You can ask me anything, Nadir. If I don't want to talk about it, I'll let you know."

"When we were in the water tank…You said you never really met your mother…you don't have any memories of your family?" Nadir was watching Callen closely. He could see the obvious emotion on the man's face.

Callen shook his head, then looked down at the table for a few moments before meeting Nadir's eyes again. "Not really," Callen admitted. "Just flashes of my mother and sister. I have a few pictures, an old movie and I met my dad only recently…"

"That's how you found out your name?" Nadir asked.

"Yeah," Callen nodded. "But we didn't really get a chance to talk. It was only a couple of minutes…" Not enough time. There just never seemed to be enough time…

"Why couldn't you spend time with him?" Nadir asked, not understanding how he could find his father and then not be able to talk to him.

"I was on a case, Nadir," Callen tried to explain. "People's lives were at stake. It's what I do. We had to go."

"But you'll see him again, won't you?" Nadir seemed upset by this. Callen was touched that the boy would be so concerned, but he didn't want him to worry.

"Yes, yes, I will see him, Nadir." Callen smiled reassuringly at the youngster.

"Because you really should, Cal…Grisha. I'm sure he wants to see you as much as you want to see him."

Callen really wasn't sure if that was true at all, but he automatically nodded in agreement.

"You don't believe me?" Nadir asked.

Could this kid read minds or something? "Yes, I believe you, Nadir. I'll see him soon." He wasn't really sure how easy it would be to accomplish it, but maybe he would try. Somehow, he didn't think his father would be making a trip out to Los Angeles for a visit any time soon. It would definitely be on him to make something happen.

Nadir nodded. "Good. You should bring Sam with you."

"Sam?" Callen smirked. "What makes you think Sam would want to go?"

"You said there would be people in your life and you know you're safe when you're with them…Sam is one of those people for you, isn't he?"

0

Callen smiled and nodded his head. "He is... He's like a brother to me. I feel very safe when I'm with him." He wondered how different his life would have been if he had grown up with someone like Sam as a brother. He counted himself lucky that he had found him in adulthood. Sam was the closest thing to family that he had. Hetty was family also, but it was different. He and Sam were together constantly. They depended on each other. They trusted each other. He would always have Sam's back and knew that Sam had his as well. He thanked God every day that Sam was in his life.

"So Sam would want to go with you, wouldn't he?"

Callen nodded, amazed at Nadir's perception. "Yes, you're right…I'm sure that Sam would go with me."

"Good," Nadir said. "Then you should go. He's your father…it's important."

"I'll definitely try to make it happen," Callen promised.

xxxxx

After a walk along the Venice Beach boardwalk, Callen looked at his watch and realized they needed to head back to the boat shed. They were already running late. The day had gone much too quickly for his liking. "It's almost time for your parents to pick you up," he said softly. "We'd better head back to the car."

"Okay," Nadir said, his face falling a little as he spoke. He didn't want the day to end either.

When they arrived back at the boat shed, they found Sam, David, Rachel and Tomar all seated and chatting.

"Sorry we're late," Callen said. "The time got away from us a little bit."

"It's no problem at all," David replied. "We only just got here a few minutes ago ourselves."

After a bit of small talk, David spoke. "I hate to break this up but we do need to get going. We have to pack and get ready to leave. We have an early flight in the morning. Thank you, Agent Callen. Thank you for everything you've done for us."

"You're welcome," Callen shook the man's hand and turned his attention to Nadir. He hadn't known him for very long, but he was really going to miss the boy.

"I can see why Sam makes you feel safe," Nadir commented softly, inwardly admiring Sam's muscular build. He hoped he would have muscles like that someday.

Callen rolled his eyes as he saw the broad grin spread over his partner's face. He was never going to hear the end of that.

"Goodbye, Sam," Nadir said. He then wrapped his arms tightly around Callen's waist. "Goodbye Grisha…It was a great day. Thank you so much for everything. I'll never forget what you did for me."

"You're very welcome, Nadir," Callen returned the boy's hug, trying to swallow back the huge lump developing in his throat. "You'll keep in touch?"

Nadir nodded. "I promise. I'll write and I'll draw you some pictures." He then ran over to his parents and brother. "Remember what you said you'd do," he called out, giving Callen one last wave before heading off into his new life.

xxxxx

"So…" Sam said, grinning at his partner after the family had left.

"Don't even," Callen shook his head, unable to hold back the smile on his own face.

"I make you feel safe? Aww…G, that makes me feel so special." Sam grabbed his partner and pulled him into a playful hug.

Callen rolled his eyes, but was grateful for the playful banter to help take his mind off the emotion of Nadir leaving. "Don't let it go to your head, big guy. You are kind of built like a tank. You'd make anyone feel safe."

"Funny," Sam grinned, but then his eyes turned serious. "You good?" he asked.

"Of course," Callen nodded. "We'd better get to interviewing Mr. Lewis though. "He's probably wondering what happened to us."

"Wait." Sam placed his hand on Callen's shoulder stopping him. "Just a second."

"What, Sam?" Callen asked impatiently.

"He called you Grisha."

"What?" Callen looked back at his partner, puzzled.

"Nadir," Sam said. "He called you Grisha."

Callen shrugged. "Yeah, so? It's my name, Sam." He wasn't really understanding the problem.

"It just…it surprised me is all," Sam said, trying to explain. "I didn't expect it."

"He wanted to know my name, Sam. I told him and he used it. It's not a big deal…" Callen didn't want to let on how much it had meant when Nadir had called him by his name.

"You sure about that?"

"I don't know what you want me to say here, Sam. But we really do need to interview Mr. Lewis."

"You didn't even tell me right away, G… about your father or about your name…"

Callen sighed. "I was just pulling it all together in my head, Sam, processing it. Surely you can understand that?"

Sam nodded. "I do, but…when you told me, you didn't act like it was a big deal. You even told me that I should still call you G."

"You're right, I did," Callen nodded. "G is our thing, Sam. You've always called me by that name. I'm used to it. I like it."

"But why did you tell Nadir to call you Grisha?"

"I didn't," Callen said, shaking his head. "He asked me my name, Sam. It was his choice to call me that. I didn't tell him to."

"Do you want me to call you Grisha?" Sam asked.

"I…" Callen hesitated, stumped by the question. "I haven't even told anyone else on the team, Sam… Kensi or Deeks…so, no, I think you should still just call me G…"

"You're sure?"

"Sam, Nadir had no previous frame of reference on what to call me. I think you should just call me what you always have. Not even Hetty calls me Grisha…no one does…"

"Okay, G…but I hope you'll let me know… if you change your mind…"

Callen nodded. "I'll definitely let you know, Sam…but there might be something else you can do for me, sometime soon…"

"Name it."

"I may try to arrange to go back to visit my dad. There's a lot that needs to be said…a lot I need to know. If I do…will you come with me?" It took a lot for him to ask. He was more apt to go lone wolf on something like this, but Nadir had seemed to think it was important for Sam to accompany him.

"You know you don't need to ask that question, G." Sam smiled as he wrapped his arm around Callen's upper back and gave him an affectionate squeeze. "Of course I will do that for you. You just let me know when and I'll be there for you."

"Thank you, Sam…" Callen said, his eyes filled with emotion. "and you're right…I knew I didn't need to ask."


End file.
